TL: Etude
Upon exiting the Martial Pavilion branch, Yue Ling's beautiful eyes fixed upon Ye Tian. "Ye Tian, you're filthy rich now—with 32.5 billion, even I'm tempted to rob you!"
"You'd better up your game if you want to rob me. You couldn't do it now!" Ye Tian joked.
"How dare you tease me!?" Yue Ling pretended to be upset.
Both shared a laugh and a bit of banter before preparing to go their separate ways.
Before leaving, Yue Ling reminded him, "Ye Tian, you're wealthy now. There's an auction hosted by the Martial Pavilion in ten days, and I think you should attend. There are quite a few items that you'll find useful. After all, you haven't joined any factions, so many things you can only obtain through purchasing."
"Yue Ling, can you give me a hint about what good items will be there?" Ye Tian became curious.
He did have money now, but many valuable items were not traded openly. For example, he had inquired about storage bags at the Martial Pavilion only to find that they were unavailable.
"High-tier Yuan Force Body Refining Techniques!" Yue Ling revealed.
"Really? They'll auction that?" Ye Tian was brimming with interest.
Having spent a considerable time at the Demon Sea Base, he had long been inquiring about high-tier yuan force body refining techniques. But such techniques were the core secrets of major factions and were never put up for trade. Unless he pledged loyalty to a significant power, obtaining high-tier techniques was impossible. Currently, he only had the mid techniques given by Yue Ling. These were good, but they became almost ineffective once he reached the Grandmaster realm.
"If I want to continue my cultivation, I'll have to rely on the blood of top-tier ferocious beasts," Ye Tian thought. The difference in progress speed between Grandmasters with and without high-tier techniques was astronomical. Originally, he had planned to seek high-tier techniques after reaching the Grandmaster realm, but now it seemed he had a chance.
"Yue Ling, I'll definitely go!" Ye Tian confirmed.
"Good, I'll get you an invitation for the auction in the next couple of days. You can just go directly then," Yue Ling arranged.
"Thank you!" Ye Tian sincerely expressed his gratitude. If he had to arrange the invitation himself, it would have taken quite some time.
Shortly after, the two parted ways.
Upon arriving home, it was already evening. Ye Yu had returned from the Martial School and was visibly excited to see Ye Tian. "Brother, you're finally back!" Ye Yu jogged over.
However, her attention was quickly captured by Xiao Zi (Little Purple). "Wow, such a cute little mouse! Brother, is this your gift for me?" Ye Yu's eyes twinkled like stars.
It was no wonder; Xiao Zi was truly adorable, especially the hint of golden fur between its brows, which elevated its aura several levels.
"Yes, this is your little gift," Ye Tian nodded.
When Ye Tian handed Xiao Zi over to Ye Yu, Xiao Zi was bewildered. "What's going on? Who is this woman? I thought I was the cute pet of my master. How come I'm with her now?"
"Master, did you sell me?" Xiao Zi plaintively spoke in Ye Tian's mind.
"No, I didn't sell you. I'm just very busy and can't take you with me all the time. This is my sister Ye Yu; you'll stay with her from now on. She seems to like you a lot and will surely take good care of you," Ye Tian explained.
"That's good to hear. Xiao Zi will listen to Master!" Xiao Zi obediently said.
With Xiao Zi joining the household, Xiao Jin's (Little Gold) status plummeted instantly. Ye Yu used to play with Xiao Jin often, but now with Xiao Zi around, Xiao Jin was almost abandoned.
Of course. Of course.
Ye Yu also frequently practiced cultivation, and as such, couldn't spend much time with Xiao Zi and Xiao Jin. The two pets, however, quickly became friends.
Xiao Zi: "I'm Xiao Zi. What's your name, big guy?"
Xiao Jin: "I'm Xiao Jin. My master named me."
Xiao Zi: "So, big guy, what can you do?"
Xiao Jin: "I'm very fast and I have great stamina!"
Xiao Zi: "Your abilities don't seem too impressive, do they? Do you know what I can do? I have a talent for treasure hunting. No treasure can escape my eyes. If you become my follower, I'll lead you to countless treasures in the future!"
Xiao Jin: "Big brother, you got it!"
Xiao Zi: "I'm female. Call me big sister!"
Xiao Jin: "Yes, big sister!"
In just a few sentences, Xiao Jin had become Xiao Zi's subordinate. From then on, Xiao Zi no longer walked by herself but rode on Xiao Jin's large body, treating him as a mount.
When Ye Tian saw this, he couldn't help but laugh for several days. Seeing that Xiao Jin and Xiao Zi were playing happily with Ye Yu, he didn't interfere much.
On the fourth day after his return, the Yue Ling Sect sent an invitation for an auction. Tucking away the auction invite, Ye Tian was about to start cultivating when he suddenly remembered that the cooldown time for his duplication talent had ended.
"I'll first duplicate Xiao Zi's treasure-hunting talent!" Ye Tian decided. The talent was indeed amazing; not duplicating it would be a disservice to himself.
"Duplicate!"
"Fuse!"
The high-tier treasure-hunting talent didn't cause Ye Tian much pain. He only felt a bit hot and broke into a sweat. Ten minutes later, the fusion was complete.
[Treasure-Hunting Talent: High-tier]
Looking at this line of talent description, Ye Tian was very satisfied. He immediately began to test the capabilities of the high-tier treasure-hunting talent. He placed a hundred-year-old ginseng, a thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, and a vitality stone on the table, and then activated his treasure-hunting talent.
Next, an incredible scene unfolded.
Whoa!
Three beams of light emitted from the three treasures. The light from the hundred-year-old ginseng was a faint white, the light from the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum was a strong white, and the light from the Qi Stone was a light red.
Ye Tian then took out numerous other treasures and examined them one by one with his treasure-hunting talent. Ultimately, he concluded that the color of the light was related to the level of the treasure, ranking them from low to high in white, red, and yellow light. Most of his own treasures emitted white light; fewer emitted red, and those emitting yellow light were exceptional items like the Heavenly Soul Flower.
As for what was above yellow light, Ye Tian didn't know.
At the same time, Ye Tian also tested the range of his treasure-hunting talent, finding it to be within ten miles. Within this range, he could sense the existence of treasures and preliminarily determine their levels. Consequently, he saw a dense array of shining treasures within the ten-mile radius. Unfortunately, these treasures were all owned by others; he couldn't claim them. Among these, the most valuable emitted only yellow light.
"I have one more chance to duplicate. I should duplicate an extraordinary-level cultivation talent!" Ye Tian planned.
According to what he knew, the highest talent at the Demon Sea Base was an extraordinary-level cultivation talent. Unable to duplicate a higher-level talent, he could only fuse several extraordinary-level talents together in an attempt to create a higher-level talent.
That was also an option!
"I'll go take a look around the Yun family's area first," Ye Tian decided as he set out lightly dressed.